


Not A Hero

by mrs_ricky_horror



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), tom holland - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:46:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22168066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrs_ricky_horror/pseuds/mrs_ricky_horror
Relationships: Peter Parker/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter One

I sat outside of the school in the backseat of the nice, black, car. I watched as kids went in, laughing and talking with their friends. I frowned slightly, I didn't really have that. I have one friend, Michelle, or MJ as I call her, but she always arrived at school early so she could go to the library and be alone for a bit before too many prepubescent wasteoids showed up.  
“C'mon kid, ain't got all day,” Tony joked with a chuckle from the seat next to me, Happy in the driver's seat. I glanced at him and then back out the window. “Seriously, (Y/n), you have to go to school…”  
“Any sign of him? Anywhere?” I asked quietly.  
Tony sighed. “Nothing yet, kiddo.”  
I nodded slightly, feeling tears start to sting my eyes. “Do you…” I took a deep breath. “Do you think we'll ever find him?”  
“Of course we will, (Y/n), of course we will.” He encouraged.  
“It seems impossible! We've been looking for almost two years now, Tony, and we haven't found anything!” I exclaimed, tears stabbing my eyes as I pushed them away. “I don't think we'll ever find him… It's impossible, we would've gotten some kind of lead by now.”  
“(Y/n)... There are times when the impossible is possible if you give it everything you have… We'll find him sooner than you think, and before you know it you and him will be back in the tower doing father daughter science experiments.” Tony said, I ran a hand through my (h/c) hair and looked at my lap. I heard him shift in the seat next to me and looked up at him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him. “Listen kid, I know that this whole thing has been hard on you… I mean with him disappearing, the team getting divided like this…”  
“The whole tower being moved upstate somewhere…” I chimed in.  
“Hey, the new facility will be topnotch!” Tony defended. “Anyways… I understand what you're going through, and I will be here for you.” he said rubbing my arm.  
“Thanks Tony,” I said with a small smile.  
“Don't mention it, kid… We’re family from now on, and I promise to be the best surrogate dad ever until we find him.” he said with a smile.  
“Sir,” Happy said from the driver seat.  
“Way to ruin the moment there, Happy,” Tony said removing his arm from my shoulders, I chuckled lightly and grabbed my backpack.  
“Well, I just wanted to-”  
“Ruin the moment? Yeah, I gathered that.” Tony said with a bit of sass.  
Happy rolled his eyes in the rearview mirror. “No, sir, it's just if (Y/n) doesn't leave in the next five minutes she will most likely be late to her first period.”  
“Oh… well, my apologies, Happy.” Tony said with a slight frown. He looked at me and smiled. “Yeah, so have a nice day, sweetie, and maybe after school we could get ice cream.”  
I rolled my eyes slightly. “Ice cream? I’m not five, Tony. I’m fifteen almost sixteen.”  
“So no ice cream then?” he asked with raised eyebrows.  
I shook my head. “No, I always want ice cream.”  
Tony laughed. “Get outta here kid, and do some science-y stuff or whatever you do in that place.” he said with a wave of his hand. I rolled my eyes and opened the door slightly.  
I turned towards him and pulled him into a hug. “Thanks, Tony… for everything.”  
He patted my back slowly. “Anytime, kid. Now go learn some stuff.”  
I pulled away from the hug and excited the car, closing the door behind me. I took a deep breath and walked up the steps and into the school.

  
**···············**

  
“Tony, Miss Potts would like me to remind you that you have a meeting in thirty minutes.” Happy said placing his hands on the wheel.  
Tony nodded his head as he looked out the window. “Yeah… yeah…” he watched (Y/n) walk up the steps and into the school. “Okay, Happy, we can go.”  
Happy pulled away from the high school and began to drive towards Stark Industries for the meeting, his brows furrowed as he was puzzled by something.  
“Tony?” he asked.  
Tony glanced up from his phone then back down. “Yes?”  
“Why do you always wait to see her walk into the school?” Happy asked, everytime he drops the teen off when Tony is there he always has to wait until she is in the building, and it has always puzzled him.  
“I just want to make sure that she actually goes to school, Happy…” Tony said with an eyeroll. “But, if I have to be honest with you,” Tony mumbled setting his phone down on the leather seat beside him, as he ran a hand over her face. “I have you wait just in case, one day, she crumbles under the stress of the past two years and comes back to the car and says ‘I can't do this, Tony. Not today.’” Tony explained closing his eyes tightly and pinching the bridge of his nose, resting his head against the seat. “She acts so strong, Happy, but I know that this is killing her.”  
“And you just want her to open up and tell you her true feelings about this?” Happy asked as he pulled up to a stop light.  
“Of course!” Tony said in exasperation. “That's all I want.”  
“Why, Tony?”  
“Because… because I never did with my father, and I don't want her to turn out like me.” Tony explained opening his eyes and looking at the fabric lining the inside of the car’s roof.  
“But your not her dad, Tony.” Happy replied as he pulled up to Stark Industries.  
“I know, but until we find Bruce… I’m the best that she's got.” Tony said putting on his sunglasses. “And I don't intend on fucking it up.”


	2. Chapter Two

I walked to my locker and opened it quickly, setting my bag on the hooks and taking out the stuff I would need for the rest of the day.  
I moved over slightly as the occupant of the neighboring locker started to put in his combination, it was Peter Parker, or as Tony first announced him to me as ‘Underoos’ a.k.a. Spiderman, he doesn't know that I know that he’s Spiderman, and I don't think he knows that I was there during the fight ( _I mean I have a pretty kickass supersuit that comes with a mask, not one that covers my whole face or anything… just one that looks like the Lone Rangers… or Robin's_ ).

Yeah, I was there for the whole Accords thing… I fought the fight against half of the Avengers and Scott Lang, otherwise known as Ant Man. I don't have any trace of the Hulk in me, alright, so I didn't Hulk out on anyone ( _when Tony found out about me not being able to turn into a green rage monster, he was a little depressed to say the least_ ).  
What are my powers, you may ask? Well, I am telepathic and telekinetic, I can control objects with my mind and see into other people's minds. I am also an empath, which allows me to sense other people’s emotions, and also influence them to change… Like when my dad and I were in Calcutta I constantly kept him calm so he wouldn't Hulk out ( _think of it as mood control_ ).  
Tony made me sign due to him being my current ‘legal guardian’ even though I knew that it wasn't the right thing, and like Natasha, I ended up Helping Steve’s team in the end. Which didn't land me in a jail cell, house arrest, or hiding in Wakanda… Tony pulled some strings for me, and by that I mean he lied to the government and told them that I did nothing wrong.  
I do feel bad for what happened after the whole fight that split the Avengers the way Yoko Ono split up the Beatles, and I miss everyone all together the tower…  
I still talk with Natasha every other day, and she gives me updates on Steve and Sam; Clint and I are Facebook friends, so we are constantly in contact, even though it's mainly me complaining about Tony and him sending me memes and dad jokes; I occasionally talk to Wanda, but that's just when Vision goes to see her, I have him take one of Tony's phones so I can text and call them whilst they are together (I would go, but Tony would get a little suspicious if his ‘legal responsibility’ and his android, mind stone carrying, friend went away for weeks); and T’Challa gives me updates on how Bucky is doing, well… mainly his sister, Shuri’s, work on him, I try to help her out as much as I can by suggesting things, hopefully what she does works… I didn't really know Bucky, but he's Steve’s best friend and I think Steve deserves a little good in his life right now, and if that means helping the princess of Wakanda figure out how to ‘Fix this broken white boy’ ( _Shuri's words not mine_ ) then I will do the best I can.  
Peter was talking with his friend Ned about a Lego Deth Star with 4,016 pieces. I closed my locker quietly and spun in the combination once more so when I came back I only had to open it, and walked past Peter and Ned with my books and binders tightly held to my chest.  
It was unnerving to be in a school with so many smart kids, even though I’m smart too, like Tony level smart, but I still have the anxiety that I’m not supposed to be here.  
I walked into homeroom and sat next to MJ, and laid my head on the desk. To say I was tired would be an understatement, I was exhausted. I was up all night with F.R.I.D.A.Y. looking for any trace of my dad, as well as making enhancement blueprints for a new Iron Man suit, and on top of that I had to do my chemistry homework.  
“Rough night at casa Stark?” she asked, no doubt, not looking up from her book. I raised my head slightly and rested my chin on the cold desktop and groaned in response. “Did you at least get any of your homework done?”  
“Chemistry…” I muttered, closing my eyes as Peter sat down in front of me.  
“What about your physics homework?” she asked, turning a page in her book.  
“Ugh…” I groaned. How could I forget that?  
“I’ll take that as a ‘no’ then?”  
“I’ll just say that Tony ate it or something.” I muttered, earning a chuckle from Peter in front of me.  
“That would certainly be an original excuse,” he said.  
I smiled slightly, my eyes still closed. I bet I look high to everyone else. “One time he split his scotch on my Spanish homework… he tried drying it with a hair dryer and then tried to blame it on Thor.” I recalled, this time earning a slight chuckle from MJ and a loud laugh from Peter. “But Cap ratted him out, I made him explain to my teacher why my assignment smelt like a bar rag.”  
“I thought you liked physics…” Peter said turning around in his seat to face me, I kept my eyes closed.  
“Tony and my Dad practically taught me everything I need to know, I don't really care at this point.” I explained opening my eyes and looking at him. “I mean, I read, and understood, Eric Selvig’s notes on thermonuclear astrophysics at the age of twelve. I can live with not doing one physics assignments.”  
He nodded his head slightly, pursing his lips in thought, he opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by MJ dropping papers onto my head.  
“What the hell, Michelle?” I asked grabbing the papers from my head and sitting up.  
“It's the physics homework, copy it and turn it in,” she said looking at me, her brown eyes staring into my (e/c) ones.  
“No,” I said shaking my head and holding my hand out to her with the papers, “Michelle I can't copy your work.”  
“(Y/n), relax, it was just simple book work. All we had to do was read the chapter and answer the questions, you can copy this and then read the chapter tonight. It's fine.” she said pushing the papers back to me, with a smile.  
“Thank you,” I said reluctantly putting the papers in my physics binder. I glanced up at Peter, only to notice that he had turned around and began to converse with Ned.  
I laid my head back down only to have to pick it up again due to my name being called, rather loudly, from across the room. I looked up with a tired, emotionless, expression and noticed that the teacher wasn't in yet, and that it was Flash that was calling my name.  
“Hey, (Y/n)! Hey, Banner!” he yelled. I rolled my eyes and glanced at MJ, who glared at Flash.  
“What do you want, mouthbreather?” I asked raising my eyebrows slightly.  
“Ooh, am I getting on your nerves? Getting a little angry there, Banner?” he asked with a chuckle. “Don't ‘Hulk’ out on me or anything.” he joked earning nervous laughs from his friends, I couldn't tell if they were nervously laughing so he would think they thought he was funny or that I could potentially turn into a ‘big, green, rage monster.’  
“God… Sometimes I wanna throw him out a fucking window.” I muttered, looking at MJ who was still glaring at Flash with her jaw clenched, her icy stare could rival that of Natasha Romanoff.  
“What's wrong, Banner? Hulk got your tongue?” Flash asked with a laugh.  
I ran a hand over my face. “Are you really that idiotic to think that if I had any trace of the gamma effected genes that I would be allowed in a school full of prepubescent wasteoids that just aim to piss other people off?” I asked standing up from my desk and crossing my arms. “I will have you know that if I were ever able to Hulk out, it would've happened the minute I saw your fugly face and heard your annoying voice, because face it asshat… You are only so mean, and repulsive, all to accommodate for something...”  
He looked at me with raised eyebrows. “And what could that be, Banner?”  
I smirked slightly and quirked an eyebrow. “Well, you know what they associate rage with, right?” I asked. He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. I chuckled lightly and held up my right hand, raising my pinky finger, and pursing my lips. He still wasn't getting it.  
“She means you have a small penis!” MJ said pointing at Flash with a chuckle.  
He flushed instantly. “N-no I don't!”  
“Well, it is the most common reason as to why men would be chronically angry and taking it out on others… they simply have a teeny weenie.” I said sitting back down with a chuckle.  
Peter and Ned looked at me with wide eyes, whilst MJ laughed in her seat next to me. I couldn't believe that I just did that! Tony would of course be proud, but what would my Dad say? What would he say? God…. What would Steve say?  
I looked at Peter and Ned. “What's with the faces gentlemen?”   
“Remind me to never piss you off, (Y/n).” Ned said turning to face the front as the teacher walked in and began to take attendance.  
I glanced toward Flash as he glared at me shaking his head slowly and mouthing the words 'You're dead, Banner.' I gulped and looked down at my desk.  
What have I gotten myself into?


	3. Chapter Three

I walked out of homeroom with MJ and got a rush of emotion as Flash passed me and shoulder checked me. He was angry, embarrassed, and very revengeful.  
I watched as he walked down the hall with his friends, I could tell that all the color had drained from my face as I felt MJ’s mood shift from relaxed to concerned as she placed a hand on my shoulder.  
“(Y/n), are you okay?” she asked with her eyebrows furrowed in concern. I looked into her brown eyes and nodded slightly, smiling falsely… Using my powers to shift her mood back into her usual relaxed one.  
“I’m fine,” I said walking down the hall to our first hour. She shrugged it off and followed me.  
I silently cursed myself for my actions earlier. I knew that I would have to tell Tony what happened, as well as Flash's threat on my life. I just wished today was over.

  
········Time Skip to Lunch········

  
I sat across from MJ at lunch, she had a new book in her hand as well as a stack of four other books in front of her.  
We each had a mug in front of us, she had a mug of Green Tea and I had a mug of coffee. We sat in silence, like always, it didn't bother either of us, we were just content with each others companionship.  
I pulled out my phone from my hoodie pocket and saw I had one text from Tony, one from Natasha, and one from Clint.  
I opened Natasha’s first:

  
_** 🔫Mama Nat🔫 ** _  
_Hey, kid, I know you're at school right now, but I just wanted to see if you guys have found any trace of your dad since last time. I can only imagine how this must be for you, and just know that you can text me anytime you need to talk. Oh, and Steve says Hi, and wants to know how school is going._

  
I smiled slightly, Natasha was like a mother to me… See, I didn't really know who my mom was, she left shortly after I was born, so I was just raised by my dad. And let me tell you what he told me… He hulked out, a lot. But ‘the other guy’ never hurt me, ever. He was stressed, but whenever Hulk saw baby me, he was calm. My earliest memory with Hulk, is one time when I was about one years old, Dad hulked out for some reason, and I woke up laying in Hulk’s big green hand, I giggled at him and he smiled back at me.  
When Natasha came to get my father, back when Loki was taking over New York with the Chitauri, I was twelve years old… and I admired Natasha. Being the only female in the Avengers she was awesome. She was my role model, still is ( _well, her; Maria; Wanda; Clint’s wife, Laura; and Shuri are kinda all my inspirations right now_ ).  
As her and my father grew closer so did the rest of the Avengers, we were all like a big family… Nat a surrogate mom; Tony that drunk, rich, uncle that everyone loves; Steve was the war vet, grandpa, that always told stories of ‘back in my day’ and always gave great advice; Thor was like that distant cousin who is from a different country, so you have to explain to them how things work; and Clint was like the annoying older brother, who aimed to make my life a living hell, but at the end of the day he would always be there for me and protect me.  
I smiled and began to type a reply:

  
_** (Y/n)👻 ** _  
_No, we haven't found anything yet… And thanks, Nat, I know that this is affecting you too. And tell Steve I said hi, and that school is going great! 👌_

  
I opened Clint’s text and it was just some stupid dad joke. I rolled my eyes and smiled slightly, typing back ‘Lol.’ Then I opened Tony’s:

  
_** Tony Stank ** _  
_Ugh. This meeting is a total bust. I just wanna go home and sleep. How’s it going at school? My dad senses are tingling and I feel like something's wrong. Is something wrong? Should I come and get you?_

  
I smiled, Tony has definitely always been protective over me, and he became even more protective when my dad disappeared after the whole Ultron thing… Everyone became more protective over me, especially Natasha, Tony and Steve. Natasha and Tony treated me like a daughter, only wanting what was best for me, and when the whole accords thing happened it was as if there was a custody battle going on with Tony (the mom) and Steve (the dad) about me and Wanda. It wasn't as funny then as it is now given the comparison.

  
_ **(Y/n)👻** _  
_Sorry about your meeting being lame, but it's your company, so maybe your company is just lame. 😛 Anyways, school is fine. I'm at lunch right now with MJ, and nothing is wrong. You don't have to pick me up early or anything._

  
I locked my phone and set it on the table. I glanced at Peter and Ned as they stared at something across the room. I followed their gaze and saw Liz, a senior, putting up a Homecoming banner. I glanced back towards Peter and felt his emotions… it wasn't really love, it was more of lust or attraction, but not love.  
I took a drink of my coffee as MJ turned a page in her book. I wish I was friends with Peter, I mean, we're in a couple of classes together, but we were mere acquaintances, I mean can you really call someone your friend if you've never really held a long conversation with them but are friends on Facebook?  
“Did Liz get a new top?” Peter asked. I glanced up at MJ who rolled her eyes, she was annoyed, Peter tended to annoy her a lot.  
“No, she's just never worn it with that skirt.” Ned answered.  
“We should probably stop staring before she thinks we're losers,” Peter said, still staring. I looked up at MJ who turned towards Peter and Ned.  
“Too late,” she said, startling them slightly. We sit with them everyday, yet they never notice because they're looking at Liz.  
“You guys are losers.” I said taking a sip of my coffee.  
“Then why do you guys sit with us?” Ned asked.  
MJ looked at me and shrugged. “We don't have any friends.” she said looking back down at her book. Peter’s emotion changed, as well as MJ’s. Peter was now a little sad as well as anxious, and MJ was now embarrassed that she had said that and was mentally kicking herself.

  
·······Time Skip to Decathlon Practice·······

  
I laid on the floor of the Gym next to MJ as she sat and read, my head on her backpack as Liz was standing at a podium, reading the quiz cards. Ned, Charles, Abe, and Cindy are seated on the stage. Bells are placed in front of them..  
"Next question. What is the heaviest naturally-occurring element?" she asked.  
"Uranium." I muttered, closing my eyes and covering them with my arm. I was tired, I wanted to go home, but I couldn't go home.  
"Hydrogen’s the lightest. That’s not the question. Okay." Charles answered.  
I chuckled lightly, as did MJ.  
"Uranium." Abraham buzzed in.  
"Correct. Thank you, Abraham.. Please open your books to page 10."   
I removed my arm that was shielding my eyes and opened them looking towards Peter as he, no doubt, made some excuse on not going to Nationals... Most likely the "Stark Internship."  
"I can’t go to Washington because if Mr. Stark needs me, then I have to make sure I’m here." Peter explained.  
It's not like he would call you anyway. If something bad goes on Tony will most likely handle it himself. I thought looking up at MJ as she rolled her eyes.  
"Unlike Banner, you’ve never been in the same room as Tony Stark." Flash commented with an eye roll.  
_Yes he has._ I thought glaring at the ceiling.  
"Wait. What’s happening?" Liz asked.  
"Peter’s not going to Washington."   
"Why not? Really? Right before nationals?" Liz said looking at him.  
"He already quit marching band," MJ said turning a page in her book.  
"And robotics lab," I added with a yawn. Everyone's attention shifted towards MJ and I.  
"We are not obsessed with him..." MJ said embarrassed.  
"Just very observant." I added as my face flushed.  
"Flash, you’re in for Peter." Liz ordered.  
"I don’t know. I gotta check my calendar first. I got a hot date with Black Widow coming up."  
"As if." I scoffed.  
Abraham buzzed in. "That is false."  
"What’d I tell you about using the bell for comedic purposes?" Mr. Harrington scolded. 

  
········Time Skip to 2:45········

  
I walked out of chemistry class and made my way to my locker, I opened it only to have it slammed closed. I looked to the assailant and, of course, it was Flash.  
“What do you want, mouthbreather?” I asked furrowing my eyebrows, and re-entering my locker combination with my mind.  
“I just wanted to ask you how your dad is,” he said leaning against another locker. I opened my locker again and set my chemistry stuff in it just in time before he slammed it once more.  
I clenched my jaw and glared at him, he was getting on my last nerve and I was about to punch him into next week. “Fuck. Off.” I growled.  
He chuckled, but his emotions told me that he wasn't amused, he was nervous, a little terrified, but was really angry. “So how is your old man, hmm?” he smiled.  
I looked at the ground and clenched my fists, as tears began to fill my eyes. I wasn't going to cry… I wasn't going to hit him… I took a deep breath and began counting to ten like Steve told me to do when I felt like hurting someone.  
_One… Two..._  
“Oh yeah, that’s right… He’s missing right?” he sneered. “Or is he?”  
_Three… Four…_  
“I mean, is he missing or did he abandon you?” Flash asked.  
_Five._  
_Fucking hell, Steve, you're counting method isn't working!_ I screamed in my head, cursing the blonde Super Soldier.  
_Six….. Seven…_  
“Isn't that what your mom did? Didn't she abandon you, like, right after you were born?” he smiled. “I mean, I probably would've ran sooner if I was ol’ Brucie!”  
_Eight. Nine._  
“Seriously, Flash… Fuck off…” I said my voice trembling slightly, I couldn't tell if it was due to anger or sadness.  
“I mean, for being the Bruce Banner's daughter, you should be top of the class, the best in the school even… But, you're not…” he said with a small shrug. “Maybe he ditched you because you're a disappointment.”  
_Ten._  
I clenched my fists tightly, feeling my fingernails sink into my flesh.  
**_‘... disappointment…’_**  
“Seriously, (Y/n)-”  
“Flash,” a male voice said from behind me. “I think you need to leave.” he said, I glanced over my shoulder at him, it was Peter.  
“You gonna make me, Penis Parker?” Flash asked.  
“Flash, if you know what's good for ya, get the fuck out of here.” Peter almost growled.  
Peter was angry, no… He was livid. He was so pissed, I didn't know if it was because of this, or because of something else, but I was thankful that he came when he did, or I would've done something regrettable.  
Flash rolled his eyes and let out a little chuckle as he began to walk away. “Nice chat, Banner. Finish it tomorrow?” then he disappeared around a corner. Peter and I stood in silence for a few minutes.  
“Are you oka-” he began, but I cut him off.  
“Thank you, Peter.” I said looking up into his brown eyes, he smiled slightly, but then he turned serious.  
“You have to tell Mr. Stark,” he ordered. I shook my head and put in my locker combination for the third time in the past ten minutes. “Yes, (Y/n), you do.”  
“And say what Peter?!” I asked. “There's this kid at school who is a major prick, and keeps picking on me and my friends! Oh, wait! That's inside of every fucking high school ever!” I exclaimed slamming open my locker and grabbing my backpack then slamming it closed.  
“He could do something-”  
“Showing up here in an Iron Man suit and threatening the life of a student isn't something that I would see being productive in this situation.” I hissed, Peter looked down at his shoes, and I regretted yelling at him like that. “Peter, I’m sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, you were only trying to advise me on what I should do…”  
He nodded slightly and looked into my eyes once more. “(Y/n), just tell Mr. Stark what happened. Who knows, he might just do what a normal parent would do and contact Flash's parents to talk about it.” Peter suggested.  
I ran a hand through my hair and nodded slightly. “Maybe…”  
“Here,” Peter said ripping a bit off a piece of notebook paper from his chemistry notebook, “here is my number in case you want to talk anytime o-or something. My aunt says that I’m a pretty good listener.” he said the last bit with a chuckle.  
I took the paper and smiled slightly. “Thanks Peter.” I said putting the paper in my hoodie pocket. “Well… Tony's probably furious about me keeping him waiting so long… So I guess I should go.”  
“Yeah, yeah of course.” he said with a nervous smile as he opened his locker. “S-see you tomorrow, (Y/n).”  
“See you tomorrow, Peter,” I said walking towards the front doors. I pushed them open and walked down the steps, seeing the familiar black car in front with an unhappy looking Happy in the front seat.  
I opened the back door and slid in, noticing Tony wasn't in there.  
“Where’s Tony, Happy?” I asked as he drove away from the school.  
“He had an emergency business trip. ” Happy explained.  
“Oh…” I said looking out the window. He could’ve texted me or something…  
“He said that he should be back by Saturday,” Happy offered to cheer me up, no doubt, having noticed my demeanor change.  
“Okay,” I said with a nod.  
I didn't know when I was going to tell him about Flash, I didn't know if I was going to tell anyone. Tony would be dramatic, Natasha would probably kill the kid, Clint would go all over protective mama bird on him (or just get Laura to do it), Steve would probably be the most reasonable one and give me advice on how to deal with him… Seeing as he was bullied most of his time not as Captain Icecube, but he wouldn't return my Text messages.  
I felt tears sting my eyes once more as I thought about what exactly Flash had said… I looked down at my still clenched fists and saw four crescent shaped digs in each palm, with a bit of blood coming out of each. I guess I was so furious that I was squeezing my fists too tight. I wiped my hands on my black jeans, swallowing the lump in my throat.  
Out of everything Flash said to me today, there was only one thing replaying in my mind…

> **‘... you’re a disappointment…’**


	4. Chapter Four

I got out of the car and walked into Tony's penthouse.  
_But... I thought that that got blown up before the whole Ultron incident?_ You may think.  
Well, yes it did. But it was also rebuilt shortly after, with enhancements. Even though I would prefer to stay in the tower, they are in the process of moving everything, so in order for me not to be in the way, Tony recommended we move back into the Penthouse.  
I'm not really complaining, I mean, it doesn't have any security breaches due to the enhancement Tony made, it has a lot of rooms and a great view. It's just... It gets lonely. Vision is off visiting Wanda, Tony is at his stupid business trip, that leaves me and Pepper here alone, Tony won't even let me invite MJ over because he claims that we would 'break something' or 'touch something we aren't supposed to' but I just think that that's Pepper talking because Tony had no problem with me bringing MJ to the Tower when I was younger.  
I walked up the stairs to my bedroom. I set my bag down by the door and closed it, before walking to my bed and falling down onto it in exhaustion, burying my face into my pillow.  
“ ** _How was school, Miss Banner?_** ” F.R.I.D.A.Y asked.  
“Horrible…” I muttered, my voice being muffled by the pillow.  
“ _ **What happened?**_ ” the AI asked. I rolled over and looked at the ceiling.  
“F.R.I.D.A.Y…. Do you think I’ve disappointed my dad?” I asked.  
“ _ **How could you disappoint him? You're intellect is basically Dr. Banner's and Mr. Stark’s combined, you're a great person and a great hero. I don't see how you could disappoint him.**_ ” she explained.  
“Yeah, I guess…” I said reaching into my pocket and pulling out my phone and began to text Natasha.

  
_** (Y/n) 👻 ** _   
_Hey, Nat, could you have Steve call me sometime later today? I really need to talk to him, but he won't answer my texts… Could you maybe threaten him a bit, Lol. Thanks 💕_

  
“So… F.R.I.D.A.Y, I need to take my mind off of the events of today… Any crimes going on in the city?” I asked sitting up in my bed.  
“ ** _Uhh… Well, Spiderman has attempted to stop a car thief, but it turns out that the thief was just the owner._** ” she said, causing me to chuckle. “ ** _There actually is a robbery in progress, down by a small deli._** ”  
“Really?” I asked getting off of my bed and grabbing my suit, and suiting up as Steve would say.  
“ ** _Yes. They seem to have advanced weapons, not on the level of S.H.I.E.L.D’s but more like Alien technology._** ” she informed as I put on my mask. “ ** _I don't think that you should go out there, (Y/n)._** ”  
“I’m a hero, F.R.I.D.A.Y., it's what I do.” I said putting my guns into my holsters. “If it makes you feel better, I will try not to cause too much damage… And I will make sure civilians are safe before I do anything drastic.”  
“ _ **Okay, if anything bad happens**_ -”  
“I know, press the S.O.S. button on my hip ( _the circle on my leather pants_ ). And you’ll send a suit to help.” I said opening my window. “If Pepper comes to ‘check up on me’ tell her I’m asleep or something.” I said looking out the window.  
“ ** _Be careful, (Y/n)._** ” F.R.I.D.A.Y. said.  
I nodded. “Careful is my middle name.” I said as I sat on the windowsill.  
“ ** _My files say that Avril is your middle name._** ”  
I rolled my eyes. “It's a figure of speech, F.R.I.D.A.Y.. You're just as bad as Thor,” I joked as I pushed myself off of the windowsill and tucked and rolled into a standing position. I ran down the driveway and glanced at my phone as F.R.I.D.A.Y. sent me directions to the bank. I just hope I got there in time.

  
**~~~**

  
I ran to the bank and saw four men in there with some high tech weapons, as well as... Avenger masks? I crept in silently and stood by the door with my arms crossed.  
"Can’t wait to see this thing." the one in the Hulk mask said as the one in the Iron mask powered up the gun and aimed it at the ATM, ripping the front off of it.  
"Yo, this high-tech stuff makes it too easy." Fake Captain America said as they began putting the cash into the bag.  
"Told you it was worth it." fake Iron Man said. "Okay, go, go, go. Oh, nice. We can hit, like, five more places tonight." as they filled the bag some more.  
I looked to the left of me as 'Spiderman' appeared and leaned against the doorway, awkwardly. He looked toward me and the suits of his eyes widened.  
"Shadow? What're you doing here?" he asked quietly. Ahh, yes... The superhero name Tony and Clint had given me... Shadow, due to my black attire, and me being excruciatingly quiet during missions... I have even snuck up on Natasha. Tony started calling me shadow because I could hide so easily in them and you forget that I'm even next to you, sort of like I'm invisible.  
"Getting ready to stop this robbery, Spiderman." I said matter-of-factly.  
"Okay... But I mean why are you here? Didn't you switch sides half way through the battle? Shouldn't you be in jail?" he asked.  
"Shut up, kid." I said glaring at him.  
"I'm not a kid!" he said. "You look younger than I do."  
"Whatever, kid. Let's just get this over with so we never have to see each other again." I said with a frown, turning back to the masked robbers.  
Peter cleared his throat. "What’s up, guys?"  
"You forget your PIN number?" I asked with a smirk.  
"Whoa! You’re the Avengers. What are you guys doing here?!" Peter asked as the Thor and Hulk impostor walked towards us. "Thor. Hulk. Good to finally meet you guys. I thought you’d be more handsome in person!" he said as he battled with the Thor one, and I battled with the Hulk one.  
I jumped and kicked his chest, sending him crashing backwards into the wall, knocking him out instantly. I looked up and saw the Iron Man one and smiled slightly. "Iron Man? Hey, what are you doing robbing a bank?"  
"You’re a billionaire." Peter said looking at him with his hands on his hips as the Iron Man impostor pointed the gun at us and it threw us onto the ceiling. "Hey! Oh, this feels so weird."  
"What is that thing?" I asked as he then dropped us to the ground, then brought us back up to the ceiling crashing us up and down a few more times.  
"I’m starting..." Peter said as he brought us to the ground, "...to think..." up to the ceiling, "...you’re not..." down to the floor, "...the Avengers!"  
I sighed and looked at the broken ATM front laying on the floor and focused on it. Picking it up with my mind and smashing it into the fake Iron Man.   
"Alright guys, let’s wrap this up." I said as Peter and I stood in front of them.  
"Yeah, it’s a school night." Peter said as I pointed toward the gun.  
"So how do jerks like you get tech like this?" I asked, just then one of them set off an explosion, slicing through the bodega across the street and then they ran off.  
"No. Wait, wait, wait!" Peter yelled. I looked at the building and so did Peter. "Mr. Delmar..." he muttered. We ran across the street and into the deli.  
"Hey, Mr. Delmar, you in here?" Peter asked looking around.  
"Is anybody in here?! Hello?!" I yelled, Peter picked up a cat and rushed out of the building with me following.  
The owner was standing outside and Peter handed him the cat.  
"Are you okay?" I asked looking at the man. He nodded. "I'm gonna call for some help okay?" I raised my wrist as the building exploded, Peter and I shielding Mr. Delmar and the cat from the explosion. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., I need you to get the police down here, and call Tony and ask him if we could maybe get the Stark Relief Foundation on this."  
"Right away." she answered.  
The police showed up and Peter looked at me, before swinging away. I checked on Mr. Delmar one more time and informed the police about the robbers that got away.  
I walked down the street and down an alley, trying to remember how I got here, I could just ask F.R.I.D.A.Y. how to get home, but she was probably talking to Tony right now. I stopped and looked at a figure in the alley, it was Peter, in his suit taking on his cell phone.  
"Happy, the craziest thing just happened. These guys were robbing an ATM…with these high-tech weapons-" he said, I could hear the smile on his face, but Happy was too busy with moving day, so he was definitely shutting Peter down. "Yeah, but-" I frowned as Happy, no doubt, cut him off again. "Wait. Wait! You’re moving? Who’s moving?" I felt bad that Tony didn't keep in touch with Peter... Maybe if Peter knew that I was Shadow, Tony would talk to him more. "But, what about me?"  
I sensed his emotions, he was sad, a little scared. It hurt my heart a bit.  
"Well, what if Mr. Stark needs me or something big goes down? Can I please talk to Mr. Stark?" Peter asked as he walked over to a dumpster, listening to Happy. "I am responsible. I- Oh, crap. My backpack’s gone." I held back a laugh. "I’ll call you back." he hung up his phone and sighed.  
"If it's any consolation," I said, causing him to turn to look at me, "I think you're responsible." I said with a small smile.  
"Did you know that Mr. Stark sold the tower?" he asked.  
"Unfortunately, yes. But I have also been telling him to tell you. I mean, afterall you are the neighborhood Spiderman, so it's only right you know what's happening in your neighborhood." I said as I rubbed the back of my neck.  
"Yeah, well, tell that to Mr. Stark." Peter said looking down at the ground from behind his mask.  
"I have, but believe me, trying to convince Tony to do something isn't necessarily easy. The last person to try was Cap, and now look where he is..." I muttered.  
Peter chuckled lightly. "Yeah... I feel kinda bad about beating the old geezer up."  
"Hey, Steve knew that we weren't gonna back down, and we knew he wasn't." I said with a small smile.  
"Then why did you and Black Widow change sides in the end?" Peter asked.  
"Because I realized that Steve was right. The accords were so we heroes couldn't intervene unless asked to, but what if they asked too late?" I answered. "Sometimes all you have left are bad choices, but you still have to choose."  
"Yeah..." he said looking back at the ground. "Well, I should get home."  
"Yeah, I should too." I said turning around. "See you around, Kid." I said glancing over my shoulder.  
"How many times do I have to tell you-" peter said exasperated. I smirked and quietly ran down the alley way and followed the map F.R.I.D.A.Y. sent me home.

  
**···············**

  
"How many times do I have to tell you, I am not a kid?" Peter said turning around to look at the helpful hero, but she wasn't there... "Well, that would explain the name." he said as he shot a web at a building and swinging away, thinking of how to tell May that he would be needing another backpack.


	5. Chapter Five

I crawled through my open bedroom window and closed it quietly.  
“F.R.I.D.A.Y. did you talk to Tony?” I asked taking my mask off.  
“ ** _Yes, he wants you to call him right away._** ” she answered.  
I took off my boots and sighed slightly. “What about the Stark Relief Foundation?”  
“ _ **He ordered me to send them, but he really wants you to call him.**_ ”  
“Can't I do that tomorrow? I’m tiiiiiiirrrred.” I groaned falling back onto my bed.  
“ _ **Of course, (Y/n)... But if you're going to go to bed, I suggest that you should change into pajamas.**_ ” she suggested.  
I nodded and got off my bed, pulling off the top and changing into an oversized Guns N Roses shirt and then changing into a pair of black leggings. “F.R.I.D.A.Y…” I said as I laid down in bed, covering myself up with the, black, comforter.  
“ _ **Yes, (Y/n)?**_ ”  
“Thank you… for everything.” I said as I looked up at the ceiling.  
“ _ **Anytime, (Y/n), goodnight.**_ ”  
“Night, F.R.I.D.A.Y…” I said stifling a yawn. She shut off my lights and I closed my eyes to go to sleep.

  
**···············**

  
Peter sat with May in the Chinese restaurant, stressed about the bad guys getting away, stressed about Tony not telling him about the tower, stressed about Shadow's comments about the "war," stressed he lost his, fifth, backpack, and stressed about Flash's threat to him and to (Y/n).  
"What’s the matter?" Nay asked looking up at Peter. "Thought you loved larb. It’s too larby? Not larby enough. How many times do I have to say "larb" before you talk to me?" she asked. "You know I larb you..."  
"I’m just stressed. The internship, and I’m tired. A lot of work." Peter answered, almost truthfully. He didn't like lying to May about being Spiderman, but if she knew he wouldn't be able to be Spiderman anymore.  
"The Stark internship. I have to tell you, not a fan of that Tony Stark. You’re distracted all the time. He’s got you in your head." she said pointing her fork towards her nephew.  
"Delmar’s Sandwiches was destroyed…" a newscaster droned on in the background, the subject causing Peter to turn around.  
"What does he have you doing?"  
"…in an explosion after an ATM robbery was thwarted by Queens’ own crime stopper…"  
"What?" May asked finally looking up at the screen.  
"…the Spider-Man, and ex Avenger, Shadow. As the Spider-Man and Shadow attempted to foil their heist… a powerful blast was set off, slicing through the bodega across the street. Miraculously, no one was harmed." the newscaster explained.  
"If you spot something like that happening, you turn and you run the other way." May said looking at Peter with wide eyes.  
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course." Peter said looking down at his food.  
"Six blocks away from us." May said in disbelief.   
"I need a new backpack." Peter said out of the blue.  
"What?" May asked.  
"I need a new backpack." Peter repeated.  
"That’s five." May said with furrowed eyebrows. "Where are they going?"   
Just then a server approached their table. "Sticky rice pudding." he said setting the plate down.  
"We didn’t order that." May said looking up at him.  
"It’s on the house." the server said with a wink before walking away.  
"Thanks." May said smiling in the direction he went, she turned back to Peter. "That’s nice of him."  
"I think he larbs you." Peter joked with a small smile. May rolled her eyes as they continued to eat their dinner.

  
**··············**

  
My eyes shot open as "A-M-E-R-I-C-A" by Motionless in White started to blast from my bedside table. I picked it up, Steve was calling.  
"Hello...?" I said a little confused.  
" _(Y/n)?_ " he asked, his voice sounding a little gruff. I looked toward the clock and saw that it was 3:39 in the morning.  
"Yeah, Steve, it's me. Do you know what time it is here?" I asked with a groan.  
He chuckled lightly. " _I'm guessing early in the morning, considering your attitude._ " he said. " _I'm sorry, Scotland's in a different Timezone, don't you know that?_ "  
"Whatever... It's fine, Steve." I said with a small smile. "I miss you..."  
" _I miss you too, kid. Now what is it you need to talk to me about?_ " he asked.  
Right... I needed to talk to him about Flash... And ridicule his breathing technique.  
"Right," I said with a small sigh. "Well, there's this kid in school who makes fun of kids, and he was telling me 'not to hulk out' on anyone... And I was getting pissed." I said with furrowed eyebrows.  
" _Language!_ " Steve said with a stern voice. " _You're taking after Tony a lot_."  
"Sorry..." I apologized. "Anyways, after school he slammed my locker shut like three times and I asked him what his deal was, then he started saying how my dad's gone, and how maybe he left because I disappointed him. I was doing your breathing technique by the way, it sucks." I explained.  
" _(Y/n), you haven't disappointed anyone._ " he assured.  
"How so? I mean, I disappointed you by being on Tony's side, then I disappointed Tony by changing to your side in the end, maybe I have disappointed my dad... I mean, I'm Bruce Banner's daughter and I'm not even top of the class." I said with a frown as tears began to fill my eyes.  
" _(Y/n), I'm not disappointed in you for being on Tony's side, because in the end you realized what was truly right. And Tony isn't disappointed in you either... You know that he could never be disappointed in you._ " Steve said, I let out a shaky breath, trying to steady my fast beating heart. " _And you're dad would be proud of you, all that you've done as a hero, you going to the Decathlon nationals soon, and your ranking in the class._ "  
I nodded slightly. Steve was right, Flash obviously doesn't know what he was talking about.  
" _Huh?_ " I heard Steve say, I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. " _No, Nat it's just (Y/n).... Some kid was picking on her today..._ "  
"Steve don't!" I said sitting up in my bed.  
" _(Y/n)?!_ " I heard Natasha's voice through the speaker.  
"Hey... Tasha..." I said rubbing the back of my neck.  
" _Who's the kid?_ " she asked, I could hear her cocking her guns in the background.  
_Wait..._  
"Am I on speaker phone?!" I yelled, earning chuckles from the other end.  
" _Yes, it's me, Natasha, Sam, Vision and Wanda._ " Steve informed.  
" _(Y/n)... Why do you think you've disappointed anyone?_ " Wanda asked.   
_God I miss her._  
"It's just some bully at school, he just got into my head." I said looking down at my comforter.  
" _Can't you just like use your powers on him and get into his head?_ " Sam asked.  
" _She's not supposed to use her powers like that._ " Steve said, I could tell that he was glaring at Sam.  
" _Why not? She could mess with so many people!_ " Sam exclaimed.  
" _Because that's not what good guys do!_ " Steve argued.  
" _Oh, it's okay for a hero to put four other heroes in Jail but it's not okay for a hero to use their powers to mess with a little twerp?_ " Sam asked.  
I chuckled lightly. "You two sound like an old married couple."  
" _Have you told Tony yet?_ " Natasha asked.  
"Well... I was going to but..." I said trailing off, not really wanting to tell them that I'm basically here alone.  
" _But what, (Y/n)?_ " Steve asked.  
"He left for a business trip earlier today..." I said, bracing myself for Steve and Natasha to yell.  
" _He did what?!_ " Natasha and Steve yelled in unison.  
"Guys, it's fine really."  
" _He left you there alone?!_ " Natasha yelled, kicking something over.  
" _Hey! What did the chair ever do to you?!_ " Sam exclaimed, wow he's not afraid of anything is he?  
"I'm not alone, Pepper is here, and Happy is a phone call away. And if needed I could just go to MJ's." I stated. "Anyways, I wanted to talk to Steve to actually talk about it, and I did, now it is a school night, so I gotta go to sleep." I said laying back down.  
" _Alright, kid._ " Natasha said. " _But if the kid bothers you again, tell me his name and address, I'll deal with the rest._ "  
" _You're not killing a fifteen year old, Nat._ " Steve said, no doubt giving her a stern look. " _Goodnight, (Y/n), I promise to text you more._ "  
" _You have to come visit sometime_ ," Wanda said, I could hear the smile on her face.  
"I will once I'm on break. Love you guys. Night," I said.  
" _Night._ " they all chorused.  
" _Next time kick his ass, (Y/n)!_ " Sam yelled. " _Ow!_ " I guess Steve hit him.  
I chuckled and ended the call setting my phone back down and putting it back onto the charge. I glanced at my clock that now said 4:25. I sighed and grabbed my phone and charger and walked to the lab.  
I guess I am taking after Tony.


	6. Chapter Six

I walked into the school and to my locker I put my bag in there and grabbed my stuff for my class, as Peter approached his locker, carrying all of his books and binders.  
_Right... His backpack got stolen._ I thought looking back into my locker.  
"Hey, Peter where's your backpack?" I asked.  
"Oh, I-I don't know." he stammered.  
"Isn't that like your fifth new backpack?" I asked with a slight chuckle.  
"Yeah," he said opening his locker and putting his stuff in there, "May is a little mad at me."  
"Well, lucky for you, I have this." I said taking out a black backpack. "It's something I've been working on since you lost your second one." I said handing it to him. "It has a tracker so if you do lose it you can find it, oh here's the device to track it with." I said handing him a rectangular screen. "It also has a secret compartment so you can hide stuff in it, you know if you need to hide anything like drugs, alcohol, or a small dog."  
Peter chuckled lightly. "Thanks, (Y/n), but you didn't have to."  
"Nonsense, I just wanted to make your life easier, and save May from having to buy so many backpacks." I said rubbing the back of my neck.  
"When did you have the time to do this?" Peter asked setting it in his locker and grabbing his stuff for class before closing the door.  
I closed my door and shrugged. "Ehh... I have a lot of time." I said as we began walking to Home Room. "I usually do it while F.R.I.D.A.Y. is searching for my dad, or when I'm not helping Tony with his suits. I stayed up last night to finish it."  
"R-really? How much sleep did you get last night exactly?"  
"I got a bit, but around 3:30 I woke up and couldn't really get back to sleep after that, so I decided to finish this for you so I can start working on the project that MJ wants." I said with a small smile.  
"Well, thank you, (Y/n), but please try and get some sleep tonight. I mean, you're always so tired..." Peter said as we walked into the room and made our way to our seats.  
I sat down next MJ and laid my head on the desk.  
"No sleep again I see." she said with a smirk.  
"I got a little bit..." I muttered as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and noticed that it was a text from Tony.

  
_** Tony Stank: ** _   
_You didn't call me last night like I told F.R.I.D.A.Y. to have you do. How could you go and do something like that? You could've been hurt, (Y/n)!_

  
I rolled my eyes and began to type a reply.

  
**_(Y/n) 👻_ **   
_Tony, I didn't get hurt, no one did. If it means anything Peter also helped and he could've got hurt so you should talk to him too. I didn't call because I was tired._

  
I looked over at Flash who was glaring towards me and Peter. I looked back down at my phone as another text came through.

  
_ **Tony Stank:** _   
_(Y/n), call me after school, or at lunch, okay? Have a good day, and if you wanna bring MJ over you can. See you soon, kid. 💕_

  
** _(Y/n) 👻_ **   
_Okay, Tony. Thank you. 💕💕💕_

  
I set my phone down and looked at MJ. "Tony said you can come over tonight."  
She looked up at me with a smile. "Really?" I nodded. "Yes!" she said with a smile looking back down at her book.

  
····Time Skip to Gym Class····

  
I sat with MJ behind Peter and Ned on the bleachers, my elbows on my thighs and my hands cradling my chin. Gym class is my least favorite thing on earth... I mean, I'm good at it, due to my training with Natasha, but I just hate the uniforms, and the sweat.  
Coach Wilson stood next to a TV and played the video.  
" _Hi. I’m Captain America. Whether you’re in the classroom or on the battlefield…_ " Steve said on the video, I chuckled lightly, I would definitely be telling him about this later.  
"Do you know him too?" Ned asked leaning in towards Peter. He wasn't being all that quiet.  
"Yeah, we met." Peter answered. So he told Ned that he's Spiderman...  
" _…fitness can be the difference between success or failure_." Steve droned on.  
"I stole his shield." Peter said with a small smile.  
" _Today, my good friend, your gym teacher,_ " Coach Wilson gave us a slight wave, " _will conduct the Captain America Fitness Challenge._ "  
"Thank you, Captain." Coach Wilson said shutting off the TV. "Pretty sure he’s a war criminal, but I have to show these videos. It’s required by the state. Let’s do it."  
MJ and I got off the bleachers, reluctantly, and got ready to do the stupid Captain America Fitness Challenge... She laid down and got in the sit up position as I was weighing down her feet with my hands. All she did was raise her book up and down.  
"That's not right, MJ," I said with a chuckle.  
"Don't really care. Gym class doesn't matter." she said turning a page.  
I removed my hands and rested my arms on her knees. "Yeah, those who can- do, those who can't- teach and those who can't teach... Teach gym." I said with a small chuckle as Coach Wilson walked by and raised an eyebrow at MJ's technique, but didn't say anything.  
"Do Avengers have to pay taxes? What does Hulk smell like?" Ned asked Peter, again not so quietly. "I bet he smells nice."  
"You have to shut up." Peter said as he did another sit up.  
"Is Captain America cool, or is he like a mean, old grandpa?" Ned asked, causing me to chuckle lightly, causing Peter to glance at me as he did another sit up.  
"Ned, just…" he said looking back at Ned. "Okay?"  
"Hey, can I be your guy in the chair?" Ned asked.  
"What?"  
"Yeah. You know how there’s a guy with a headset telling the other guy where to go? If you’re in a burning building, I could tell you where to go. There’d be screens around me, and I could swivel around. I could be your guy in the chair." Ned said with a hopeful smile.  
"I don’t need a guy in the chair." Peter said doing another sit up as Coach Wilson walked past him.  
"Looking good, Parker." He said with a small nod.  
"Now, see, for me, it would be fuck Thor, marry Iron Man and kill Hulk." some senior said as Liz and her friends sat on the bleachers while everyone else worked out.  
"Well, what about the Spider-Man?" Liz asked.  
"It’s just Spider-Man." the girl commented.  
"Did you see the bank security cam on YouTube? He fought off four guys." Liz said with a smile.  
"With the help of Shadow," the girl said matter-of-factly.  
"Oh, my God, Liz's crushing on Spider-Man. No way." the other girl said.  
"Kind of." Liz said. I looked towards Peter who was staring at the three girls with Ned.  
"Oh, gross. He’s probably 30." The first girl commented.  
"You don’t know what he looks like. Like, what if he’s seriously burned?" the second girl asked.  
I chuckled lightly. _Like Wade? But Wade has an award winning personality._  
"I wouldn’t care. I’d love him for the person he is inside." Liz said.  
"Peter knows Spider-Man!' Ned shouted causing the entire gym to go silent, and MJ to actually do a sit up.  
"No, I don’t. No. I-- I mean--" Peter stammered as he and Ned stood up.  
"They’re friends." Ned said.  
I stood up and looked down at MJ who was looking at Peter skeptically.  
"Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends." Flash sneered. "The only person in this room who has most likely actually met him is (Y/n)."  
"I’ve met him, yeah. A couple times. But it’s..." Peter stammered.  
"It's through the Stark internship!" I saved looking towards Peter.  
"Yeah, and I’m not really supposed to talk about it." Peter said glaring toward Ned.  
"Well, that’s awesome. Hey, you know what? Maybe you should invite him to Liz’s party. Right?" Flash suggested.  
"Yeah, I’m having people over tonight. You’re more than welcome to come." Liz said looking at Peter and Ned. "it’s gonna be dope."  
"You should totally invite your personal friend Spider-Man, and maybe the hottie, Shadow too." Flash said with a smile.  
"It’s okay. I know Peter’s way too busy for parties anyway, so…" Liz said looking towards Flash.  
"He’ll be there. Right, Peter?" Ned asked looking at Peter, who nodded slightly. Liz started talking to her friends again and I looked at MJ with a raised eyebrow.  
Just then Liz walked over to us. "Hey, Michelle, (Y/n)," she said with a smile.  
MJ and I raised an eyebrow, we didn't really talk to Liz out of Decathlon practice, so this was strange.  
"Hey," we said in unison.  
"You two are invited to my party tonight, it's just a couple of people, and maybe Spider-man and Shadow if Peter can get them." she said glancing towards Peter then back to us.  
"Yeah, sure." MJ said looking at her. "We'll be there."  
"Great!" Liz said with a smile. "I'll text you guys the info." she said turning around to walk back to her friends. "Oh, (Y/n), since you basically like, know all of the Avengers, could you maybe ask Shadow if she could come? I idolize her, and would really like to meet her." Liz said turning back to me with hopeful eyes.  
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah, sure, I'll see what I can do, she's not really a fan of parties."  
"Really?" she asked with a smile, I nodded. "Oh, thank you, (Y/n)!" she said giving me a quick hug before walking back to her friends.  
_Great... MJ doesn't even know that I'm Shadow, so how am I going to be there as me and her without someone noticing that I'm not there?! What have I gotten myself into?_


	7. Chapter Seven

I walked into the penthouse with MJ following behind me.  
“ ** _Hello, (Y/n), MJ, how was school?”_** F.R.I.D.A.Y. asked as we walked into the kitchen.  
I opened the fridge and took out two water bottles, tossing one to MJ. “It was alright, F.R.I.D.A.Y.” I said with a shrug.  
“Yeah, we got invited to a Party tonight," MJ said taking a drink of her water.  
" ** _Sounds fun._** " F.R.I.D.A.Y. said. " _ **I trust you are going to go?**_ "  
"Yeah," I said leaning against the counter. "F.R.I.D.A.Y. do you think you could get a hold of Happy and ask him if he could give us a ride? I would have asked him after school but we walked to MJ's so she could get some clothes." I explained.  
" _ **Yes,"**_ she said. " _ **Oh, Ms. Potts has to work late so she probably won't be here when you guys leave for your party, and Mr. Stark says not to trash the house.**_ "  
"I gotta call him." I said taking my phone out of my pocket. "MJ, make yourself at home," I said as we walked out of the kitchen.  
"Way ahead of you," she said taking her shoes off and flopping down on the couch and grabbing the remote.  
I rolled my eyes and chuckled as I walked up the stairs to my bedroom. I dialed Tony's number.  
" _Tony here, too busy to come to the phone right now... Or I just don't want to talk to you, you decide. I will call you back if I deem it necessary based off of the message you leave, but you realize it is easier to text right?_ ' then it beeped.  
I sighed. "Really, Tony? You tell me to call you after school, yet you don't answer?" I sat down on the edge of my bed. "Why am I surprised? You do this all the time." I said laying down on the bed. "MJ's here, so we're probably just gonna watch movies all day. Call me back later, okay?" I hung up and closed my eyes.  
_How am I supposed to hide my suit? Well... I could just wear like a sweatshirt to cover the top, and a pair of loose jeans to hide the pants and cover the boots. I'll just be exceptionally tall due to the boots._  
I sighed and got off the bed walking down the stairs to join MJ before the party.

  
····Time Skip to Liz's Party····

  
"Just call me when you guys are ready to leave," Happy said as he pulled up to Liz's house.  
"Okay, Happy," I said as MJ opened the door and got out. "Please don't tell Tony about this..." I said looking at him.  
"My lips are sealed." Happy said with a smile. "Have fun, Kid."  
I nodded and got out of the car, closing the door and walking up to the house with MJ. She looked at me and I nodded slightly, she opened the door and we walked in. There were kids everywhere and the music was loud.  
"So much for a few people." I muttered leaning towards MJ, she nodded as Liz walked up to us.  
"Hey guys!" she exclaimed with a smile. "There's pizza and drinks. Glad you guys could make it! Did you talk to Shadow?"  
"Yep, she's gonna show up later." I said with a smile as MJ walked away to get some food.  
"Awesome, well... Enjoy the party," she said as she went to see some friends. I looked around, I didn't really know anyone here besides MJ... Peter and Ned haven't showed up yet.  
I took a deep breath and went to find MJ. I found her by the kitchen making some toast.  
"Didn't Liz say there was Pizza?" I asked.  
"Mhm." MJ said looking down at the toaster.  
"Then why are you making toast?" I asked with a chuckle.  
"Because I wanted some." she said with a shrug. I nodded and looked toward the door as Peter and Ned entered, MJ's toast popped out of the toaster.  
"I Can’t believe you’re at this lame party." MJ commented as Peter and Ned approached us.  
"But you’re here too." Peter said confused.  
"Am I?" MJ asked taking a bite of her toast and walking away. I watched her disappear into the crowd then turned towards Peter and Ned.  
"Glad you guys are here," I said with a smile. Peter smiled back at me. "Nice hat, Ned." I said before Liz walked up to us.  
"Oh, my gosh. Hey, guys. Cool hat, Ned." Liz said with a smile.  
"Hi Liz," the two of them chorused.  
"I’m so happy you guys came. There’s pizza and drinks. Help yourself."  
"What a great party." Ned said.  
"Thanks." Liz said as someone stares to mess with something. "Oh, I-- My parents will kill me if anything’s broken. I gotta--"  
"Yeah." Peter said with a small smile.   
"Enjoy the party," Liz said walking away.  
"Dude, what are you doing?" Ned asked quietly. "She’s here. Spider it up."  
Peter looked at me then to Ned. "No, no, no. I can’t-- I cannot do this." he whispered. "Spider-Man is not a party trick, okay? Look, I’m just gonna be myself."  
"Peter, no one wants that." Ned said looking at Peter.  
"Dude." Peter said giving Ned a 'come on, man' type look. I chuckled lightly.  
"Penis Parker, what’s up?" Flash said into the microphone from his DJ set up. "So where’s your pal Spider-Man? And his hot pal Shadow? Let me guess: In Canada with your imaginary girlfriend?" Flash joked, I frowned deeply. "That’s not Spider-Man. That’s just Ned in a red shirt. And that's not Shadow, it's just Banner in a black hoodie."  
I clenched my jaw and glanced towards Peter and Ned before walking toward the front door. "I gotta get outta here." I walked out the front door and to the side of the house. I walked to the tree and jumped, grabbing the branch and swinging myself onto the neighbors roof. I took off my jacket and jeans and took out my mask.  
"What the fuck am I doin'?" I asked looking down at the house, looking through the sliding glass side door and seeing the party. "This is just dumb." I muttered picking up my clothes and folding them.  
"' _Hey, what’s up? I’m Spider-Man. Just thought I’d swing by and say hello to my buddy Peter_ ," Peter said, taking off his shirt and pants revealing his Spider-Man suit. He didn't even notice me standing there. " _Oh, what’s up, Ned? Hey, where’s Peter, anyways? He must be around…'_ " he said, running through what he would do when he got inside.  
I put on my mask and looked at him, this was kinda Ned's fault... But Peter agreed to it, obviously. I agreed to ask 'Shadow' to come and now look where I am... Fuck.  
"God, this is stupid. What am I doing?" Peter asked looking down at the house. Just then there was a purple light from a couple blocks away.  
_What the?_ I thought as I silently jumped off of the roof and ran through the streets to find out what was happening.


	8. Chapter Eight

I stood at the underpass and peeked around the cement looking at three men, two by a van and one in front of them.  
_What the hell is going on here?_ I thought as Peter swung in next to me.  
"Shadow? What are you doing here?" he asked.  
"We really gotta stop meeting like this..." I muttered peering around the cement once more. "These guys have some really really interesting weapons, you know like the ATM robbers, I think it's some sort of alien technology."  
"Now, this is crafted from a reclaimed sub-Ultron arm straight from Sokovia." one of the sellers said holding a gun type weapon, he handed it to the buyer. "Here. You try."  
"Jesus..." Peter whispered as we watched on.  
"I wanted something low-key. Why are you trying to upsell me, man?" the buyer asked.  
"Okay, okay. I got what you need, all right? I got tons of great stuff here." the seller said going to the back of the van. "One sec." he said looking for something. "Okay, I got black hole grenades, Chitauri railguns…" just then the weapon in the man's hands went off. "You letting off shots in public now?"  
"Hurry up."  
"Look, times are changing. We’re the only ones selling these high-tech weapons." the other seller informed.  
"So this is where the ATM robbers got their stuff..." Peter said looking down at me, I nodded and focused on the three shady men.  
"I need something to stick up somebody. I’m not trying to shoot them back in time." the buyer explained.  
_I wish I could go back in time..._ I thought. _Granted I would probably fuck a lot of things up, but it would still be an awesome experience... As long as there are no aliens, Daleks, or Cybermen..._  
"I got antigrav climbers." the seller said.  
"Yo, climbers?"  
Just then an annoying song started playing from Peter's pocket. I slowly turned my head towards him with a glare, his phone was ringing.  
"Okay, what the hell is that?" the other seller asked.  
"Did you set us up?!"  
Then they all started shooting, now it was time for Peter and I to intervene.  
"Hey, hey, man." Peter said as we ran in.  
"Hey! Hey, come on." I said as I pulled one of the guns away with my mind, the buyer leaving as soon as we came in.  
"You gonna shoot at somebody, shoot at us." Peter said.  
"All right." the seller said as he began to fire at us, we dodged their shots as they got into the van.  
"Do you trust me?" Peter asked. I took a deep breath.  
"Do I really have a choice?" I asked. He webbed the back to the van and grabbed me as they drove off.  
They swerved and shot trying to get rid of us as they drove through the city streets.  
"This doesn't seem safe!" I said as I hugged Peter tightly as he held onto the web with both hands.  
"It's really not," he said as the van swerved, cutting the web and flinging us into some trash cans.  
I groaned and watched the van disappear around the corner.  
"Ow..." Peter muttered as he stood up.  
I stood up and dusted myself off. "Great. Guess we're gonna have to take a shortcut." I said looking towards Peter who nodded.  
We ran through people's backyards, Peter swinging over fences and me simply jumping over them.  
"Hey, guys. Good game. Have fun." Peter commented at some people playing ping pong.  
"Hey, hey, buddy." I said as we ran through another yard past a dog. "Sorry, no time to play."  
"Here, go fetch." Peter said throwing a toy. We ran through another yard, this time there was a party going on. "Smells really good." Peter commented on the smell of the food on the grill.  
"Great movie!" I commented, it was Ferris Bueller's Day Off, it's a classic. We ran into another yard and Peter tripped, causing me to fall on top of him, we landed outside of a tent with two small girls in it.  
"Oh, hey, guys." Peter said, the eyes of his mask twitching, causing the little girls to scream. I stood up and helped Peter up.  
"C'mon!" I said as I began to chase the van once more.

  
···············

  
Ned raised the phone to his ear as he stood still and looked around the party nervously.  
" _Hey, it’s Peter. Leave a message._ " Peter's voicemail said.  
"Peter, where are you? The hat’s not working. This is not cool." 

  
···············

  
"Almost got you." Peter said as he swung us onto the top of the van. "Thought you got away from me, didn’t you?"   
"Surprise!" someone said as they pulled Peter and I off of the van.  
"What the _fuck_?" I asked as I glanced back towards the assailant, his goggles staring down at us before he dropped us in the river.  
I swam to the surface and gasped for air as something else shot into the water and then came up with Peter in its arms... It was Tony?  
I swam to the shore and walked out of the water and over to Peter, he sat on a rock with his mask off. I sat down next to him and pulled my boots off, dumping the water out of them.  
"And then he just, like, swooped down like a monster… and picked us up, and took us up like a thousand feet and just dropped us." Peter said looking at Tony. "How’d you find us? Did you put a tracker in my suit?"  
" _I put everything in your suit, Peter. Including this heater._ " Tony said.  
"Ahh... That’s better. Thanks."  
" _What were you thinking?_ " Tony asked, looking at Peter.  
"The guy with wings is the source of the weapons, Tony." I said looking at him.  
" _(Y/n)?_ " He said looking at me.  
"We gotta take him down," Peter said, not hearing Tony say my name.  
" _Take him down now, huh? Crockett, there are people who handle this son of thing._ " Tony said.  
"The Avengers?" Peter and I asked in unison.  
" _No. This is a little below their pay grade._ "  
"Mr. Stark, you didn’t have to come out here. We had that." Peter said looking at me, not even caring that he didn't have his mask on.  
"We were fine." I said looking at Tony.  
" _Oh, I’m not here. Thank God this place has Wi-Fi… or you would be toast right now._ " Tony said.  
_So it's just a fucking suit..._  
" _Thank Ganesh while you’re at it. Cheers. Look, forget the flying vulture guy, please._ "  
"Why?" Peter asked.  
" _Why? Because I said so!_ " Tony yelled. " _Sorry, I’m talking to teenagers._ " he said to someone else. " _Stay close to the ground. Build up your game helping little people, like that lady that bought you the churro. Can’t you just be a friendly… neighborhood Spider-Man?_ "  
"But I’m ready for more than that now." Peter said, he was angry but he was overall sad that Tony didn't think he was ready for the big stuff.  
" _No, you’re not!_ " Tony argued.  
"That’s not what you thought when you took him to Germany," I said with an eye roll.  
"Yeah, or when I took on Captain America." Peter said.  
" _Trust me, kid. If Cap wanted to lay you out, he would’ve._ " Tony said, I nodded slightly. It's true. " _Listen to me. If you come across these weapons again, call Happy._ " Tony said and there was the slight sound of a car door being shut.  
"Are you driving?" I asked.  
" _You know, it’s never too early to start thinking about college. I got some pull at MIT._ " Tony said.  
"No, I don’t need to go to-" Peter started but Tony cut him off.  
" _(Y/n), we'll talk later. End call."_  
" _ **Mr. Stark is no longer connected.**_ " F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice said as the suit flew away.  
"Awesome." I said sarcastically as I took my mask off and threw it to the ground, putting my head in my hands.  
"'Stay close to the ground'? What is he talking about?" Peter asked looking at me, his eyes widening as I looked up at him. "(Y/n)?"  
"Surprise!" I said with unenthusiastic jazz hands.  
"You're Shadow?"  
"And you're Spider-Man." I said with a small smile.  
Peter chuckled lightly. "So who all knows?"  
"Well, outside of the Avengers, only you, Happy and Pepper." I said standing up, Peter following suit.  
"Only Ned, Happy and Mr. Stark know..." Peter said picking up his mask, as well as mine and handing it to me. "I don't see how I didn't notice it before, your mask doesn't really hide your face," he said with a smile.  
"Tony said that it worked though," I said with a shrug as we put our masks on and began to walk back to Liz's place.  
"I just can't believe that you've been Shadow this whole time."  
"Is it that hard to believe?" I asked with a chuckle.  
"Well, yeah, you just don't really seem like the hero type..." he said with a shrug. "You seem like you'd be-"  
"The guy in the chair?" I asked, he nodded. "Well, I was, up until the whole battle with Steve.... Tony decided that I was done training my powers with Wanda and that it was time to use them."  
Just then Peter's phone went off again. "It's Ned." he said answering the phone call. "Hey, what’s up? I’m on my way back."  
I could hear Ned on the other end. " _Actually, I was calling to say maybe you shouldn’t come. Listen..._ "  
Then Flash's voice was heard. " _When I say 'penis,' you say 'Parker.' Penis!_ "  
Then the party goers yelled. " _Parker!_ "  
" _Penis!_ "  
" _Parker!_ "  
" _Sorry, Peter. I guess we’re still losers._ " Need said, I could hear the sadness in his voice. " _I’ll see you later._ "  
"I’ll see you later..." Peter said hanging up the phone.  
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw that MJ texted me telling me that she couldn't find me, but she texted Happy to pick her up because she was tired.  
"What's that?" I asked pointing to something glowing and purple, he picked it up.  
"It must be from one of their weapons," he said, examining it.  
"Jesus... Peter, we can't just ignore this... Tony isn't here, Steve isn't here... It's up to us to figure this out. " I said looking at him.  
He nodded. "You're right. I have to go back to Liz's and grab my clothes, maybe I could drop you off at home afterwards?" Peter asked rubbing the back of his neck, he was nervous.  
"Y-yeah, sure," I said with a small smile.  
"O-okay," he said.


	9. Chapter Nine

Peter swung onto Liz's neighbors roof and threw on his clothes, I did the same, we both took off our masks and looked at each other, then down at the party that was still going on.  
"Don't they know that it's a school night?" I asked.  
Peter chuckled. "I guess not." he pulled out his phone and texted someone. "I told Ned that I'm back and ready to go, also my aunt will be here to pick us up, we could give you a ride if you want."  
"I mean if your aunt wouldn't mind," I said with wide eyes. "I don't want to impose or anything..."  
"She won't care, c'mon." Peter said jumping off the roof and stumbling the landing a bit, I chuckled and jumped off, sticking the landing.  
"Ugh," I groaned, Peter looked at me with a concerned face. "No, the landing, it's really hard on your knees." I said with a smile as we walked to the front of Liz's house. Ned was already waiting there.  
"Thanks for bailing on me, dude. Where'd you go?" Ned asked, he wasn't all that angry, he was feeling a little depressed having to be at a party where he knew no one and had to listen to his best friend get called names by the entire party.  
It made me think of MJ... I left her all alone, here and at the house, maybe I should tell her about me being Shadow...  
"Let's just go, May's here." Peter said motioning to the car. We walked towards it and Peter opened the passenger side backdoor for me.  
"Thank you," I said quietly as he shut the door with a smile. He got in the front seat as Ned went around the car and slid in next to me.  
"May this is our friend, (Y/n) Banner, she uh... Needs a ride home." Peter said looking at his aunt.  
"Sure thing," she said looking at me in the rear view mirror with a smile. "How was the party guys?" she asked as she pulled away from Liz's house and followed the directions I gave her.  
I looked out the window, not really sure how to answer.  
"It was great, May," Peter said looking out the window.  
It was followed by an awkward silence as May drove to Tony's house.  
"It's just up here," I said reaching forward and pointing up the curvy road.  
"Okay," she said with a smile. "So, (Y/n), are you in the Stark internship as well?"  
"Not exactly," I said glancing toward Ned. "I'm not really in the internship, but I help out some of the kids, as well as helping out Mr. Stark."  
"So are you really smart too?" she asked as she continued to drive up the long, curvy, road.  
"I- I wouldn't say ‘really smart’..." I said sheepishly.  
Peter chuckled. "May, (Y/n)'s Dr. Bruce Banner's daughter."  
May's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked, I nodded. "I've heard about you! Didn't you design something... What was it?"  
"I helped design Tony's Hulk Buster suit," I said with a small smile.  
"Wow!" May said with a smile. "You are really smart."  
"I'll say so," Ned said with a smile. "(Y/n) read and understood Eric Selvig’s notes on thermonuclear astrophysics at the age of twelve!"  
"It's not that hard..." I said as my cheeks flushed.   
"Your father must be very proud," May said. Peter looked at me with wide eyes.  
I smiled slightly. "Yeah..."  
It was another awkward silence.  
"It's this house, the driveway is pretty long, so I'll just get out here-" I said putting my hand on the door handle.  
"Nonsense, we'll drive you up." she said pulling into the driveway and driving up to the large penthouse. All three of their eyes widened at the extravagant house.  
"Wow..." the three of them whispered.  
I chuckled lightly as May stopped the car at the front of the house. "Thank you for the ride. It was nice meeting you, May." I said opening the door.  
"It was nice meeting you too, sweetie," she said with a smile and a wave. "You'll have to come over sometime and have dinner with us."  
"I would love that," I said. "See you tomorrow, Ned, peter." I said getting out of the car.  
"I'll walk you to the door," Peter said getting out and walking with me.  
"You don't have to..."  
"I know, I want to." he said with a smile. I smiled and looked at the walkway leading up to the stairs of the house.  
"I'll see you tomorrow, Peter," I said laying my hand on the door handle.  
"(Y/n), I'm sorry about May bringing your dad up, she doesn't know about him-"  
"It's fine, really it is." I said looking up at him. "I'll see you tomorrow Peter." I opened the door and turned back to him. "I'll have F.R.I.D.A.Y. look into strange arms deals and text you later, okay?"  
"Yeah, okay!" he said with a small smile. "Talk to you later," he said awkwardly walking back to May's car.  
I chuckled and shook my head as he tripped slightly and then fast walked to her car.  
I walked into the house quietly closing the door behind me. I walked into the living room to see MJ laying on the couch with the end credits to Return of the King playing.  
I covered her with the blanket that was on the floor and removed the book from her hands, only to have her spas and grab my wrist.  
"Relax, MJ! It's me!" I yelled, pulling my wrist out of her grip.  
"Jesus, (Y/n)," she said sitting up, "you scared me."  
"Sorry..."  
"What time is it?" she asked.  
" ** _10:30 p.m._** " F.R.I.D.A.Y. answered.  
"Where did you disappear to at the party? I couldn't find you..." she said as I sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of the couch.  
"MJ... There's something I need to tell you," I said looking at her.  
"Yeah, sure... You can tell me anything." she said looking at me, her brown eyes filled with curiosity and slight worry.  
I let out a breath and stood up. "MJ... I have a secret that you can't tell anyone, okay? If this got out my life would be horrible, much like it already is, but in a different way."  
"You're not a murderer right?" she asked with wide eyes.  
"What? No..." I said shaking my head.  
She let out a sigh of relief. "I wasn't gonna judge you if you were, I would just want to know your MO so if I fit it i could stay away from you."  
"If you fit my MO, did you think I would tell you? Instead of just killing you right here? Right now?" I asked with a chuckle.  
"Hmm... Right..." she said squinting her eyes up at me.  
"But that's not it, MJ... You know when I was gone for a week, and I told you that Tony took me on a little vacation?"  
"Yeah, you guys went to Hawaii and you learned how to swallow fire." she said with a nod.  
_Right... That was the cover story we came up with._  
"About that..." I chuckled slightly. "I was actually in Germany, fighting Captain America on an Airport runway..." I said looking at her.  
"What?" she asked.  
"Yeah, MJ... I'm Shadow..." I said taking my mask out of my jacket pocket and handing it to her.  
"You mean... Like Avenger Shadow?" she said looking down at the mask.  
"Yep," I said taking off my jacket and jeans to reveal my outfit.  
She looked up at me with wide eyes. "For real?" she asked. I nodded. "Holy shit..."


	10. Chapter 10

I spent the rest of the night showing MJ my powers, levitating a few things, stopping thrown objects in mid air, reading her mind to find out what card was hers. And I asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. to look into strange weapon deals throughout the city, and also strange electromagnetic pulses, so far we found nothing.  
Tony called though... And that's where it gets strange... :  
I sat next to MJ on the couch as I was levitating three of her books as Jimmy Kimmel played in the background. Then my phone rang, Iron Man by Black Sabbath blasting from it, breaking my concentration and having the books fall to the floor.  
"Shhhh!!!" I said to MJ with a smile as she laughed really hard, I don't know why, maybe she did it because she jumped at the bang of the books. I put my phone on speaker and set it on the table picking up the books again. "Go for (Y/n)." I said as MJ put another book on the stack.  
" _What the hell were you thinking, (Y/n)?!_ " Tony shouted.  
"I was doing what heroes do, Tony," I said as I made the books hover over MJ's head. "Wingardium leviosa." I chuckled.  
" _No, unfortunately, heroes usually stop the bad guys._ " Tony said with a sigh.  
MJ covered her mouth and looked at me with wide eyes.  
"Yeah, well heroes usually don't turn their back on their team causing half of them to be wanted by the government." I said with a smile.  
"BURN!" MJ yelled causing me to chuckle.  
" ** _Sir, do you need some ice?_** " F.R.I.D.A.Y. asked, causing MJ and I to bust out laughing.  
" _Am I on speaker?_ " Tony asked.  
"Yep. It's alright, MJ knows." I said, he sighed in relief. "Tony, I'm sorry if I worried you-"  
" _Worried? Worried doesn't begin to cover how I felt. I was so scared, (Y/n)... If you had gotten hurt... I wouldn't know what to do._ "  
"Tony.."  
" _(Y/n), you're like a daughter to me, and I want what's best for you, but you can't just go off and fight a fight you know nothing about like that..._ " he said. "I've lost so much, and I can't lose you too."  
MJ looked at me with wide eyes and gave an awkward smile before going into the kitchen. I set the books down on the table and ran a hand through my hair.  
"Tony, I know and I'm sorry... But I couldn't sit there and not intervene at the ATM robbery, and I had to figure out what was going on when I saw a freaking blast of purple light shoot into the sky." I explained.  
" _I know kid, I would've done the same thing._ " Tony said with a small chuckle. " _You know, when I first met you back when the whole Loki/Chitauri thing happened, I knew there was something special about you. Whether it was the fact that you understood thermonuclear physics at such a young age, or the fact that you had potential to be a huge green rage monster... I knew there was something special about you._ "  
I chuckled lightly and pulled my knees to my chest.  
" _Then the whole Ultron thing happened, and you helped us figure out what to do, and even helped convince Wanda and Pietro to help out..._ " Tony recalled. " _Then your dad disappeared... I still remember what happened when Cap and I told you. You remember that?_ "  
"I remember calling you both liars and then Sam and Wanda running into the training room." I chuckled.  
" _Yeah, well, the reason they came running into the room was because you threw me back against the wall and threw Steve's shield at him that was all the way across the room. It was the first time we saw your powers._ " Tony explained.  
"Ah... Now I remember, later that day you had me training with Wanda." I said with a smile.  
" _Yeah... I would've trained you, but I didn't want to get hurt._ " Tony chuckled.  
"I wouldn't have hurt you, Tony... Well, maybe a little."  
" _I wouldn't put it past you._ " he said. " _But I never gave up on you learning to control them, and you never gave up on me as a surrogate dad. And from the moment I saw you I've always tried to protect you, to keep you safe. Bruce didn't even have to ask me. I just always felt like I had to, like it was my responsibility, You know?_ "  
I didn't know, I never knew that Tony felt this way, I only thought that he took me in as a legal responsibility to show the world that "Hey, Tony Stark cares for someone other than himself."  
" _When your dad disappeared, I knew that I was supposed to help you, and I wanted to... (Y/n), I know sometimes I must be unbearably annoying, and sometimes it may seem like I'm too busy to be there, but just know that I do love and care for you,"_ he said.  
I smiled as tears filled my eyes. "I know, Tony... I love you too."  
" _You and me... We're all that's left, kid. So if we’re gonna find your dad, save the world, maybe one day get the team back together... If we're gonna see this through. We're gonna do it together. I'm proud of you, (Y/n)._ "  
"I'm proud of us, Tony."  
" _Yeah, me too. I'm gonna let you and MJ get back to whatever it was you were doing, I'll talk to you later_."  
"Yeah, bye Tony."  
" _Bye, (Y/n). Try not to cause any damage to the house while I'm gone._ " he chuckled.  
"What if I said it was too late for that?" I asked as MJ walked back into the living room with some popcorn.  
" _Oh god, (Y/n)... What did you break?_ "  
"Nothing, I was only joking."  
" _Okay. Goodnight girls_ ," he said.  
"Goodnight, Tony."  
"Goodnight, Mr. Stark." MJ said through a mouth full of popcorn. I hung up and looked at her as she stared at the TV.  
I had a surrogate dad that loved me, and a best friend who now knows my secret… And Peter, Ned and I are friends... For once in my life (after my dad disappeared), I am genuinely happy...


End file.
